Blue skies

Now summer has finally arrived and we've had a week of hot, clear weather.  Here are some photos from Huccaby and Green Down, Holne to prove it.  The farmers have been busy getting the hay in, and the birds have breathed a sigh of relief and gone very quiet, preoccupied with feeding and moulting instead of proclaiming their presence, defending their territories and trying to keep themselves and their offspring warm and dry. 


The predominant colours are now blue, blonde and deep green, with the flowers into the late summer purple phase of foxglove, heather and thistle.  Conditions seem to have suited the foxgloves this year and they're putting on a vivid magenta show almost everywhere you look.


The other day my wife and I pulled up the car under a Hobby sitting on a telephone wire, mobbed by frantic swallows.  I think it's only the second time I've ever seen one at rest - they're usually on the wing when you see them.  This one had probably just made a failed attempt to catch a swallow and was sitting contemplating how it could improve its technique next time.